The Wild Dog Blog

Tag: life lessons

  • The Centipede

    I watched a centipede make its way along the bannister at the end of the boardwalk. It would inch along for a few seconds, stick its head up to look around, and then continue on. It almost seemed as if it were looking for something, but for what I wasn’t sure. 

    Are we any different from that centipede? Try as we might, we’re unable to see what’s ahead of us or maybe not even sure what we’re looking for. We can only move forward in faith that our path will continue to unfold. 

    I watched the centipede fall from the banister and thought about picking it up to return it to its place, but I stopped myself. Isn’t that how we all get to where we need to be? By pursuing a path, getting redirected by failure or the unexpected, and discovering a new and often better path as a result. 

    I sat there, staring at the centipede curled up on the ground, wondering if it could have died from its fall. A few seconds later, it uncurled, stretched its head up to look around, and dutifully continued on its way. It was a humbling reminder of what’s available to all of us – the choice to keep inching along undeterred, no matter how many times the path changes up ahead.

  • The Potential for Positive Impact is Everywhere

    I spent one summer during college working for a youth soccer company. My job as a coach was to show up at schools and parks and make soccer fun, exciting, and educational for young kids. But from the beginning, my bosses instilled in me that while the needs of the kids always took priority, what I had to offer was much wider reaching. 

    They taught me that from the second I arrived at a school or park to the second I left, I had the potential to positively impact anyone and everyone, not just the kids. Within the context of my role this included school administrators, teachers, security guards, park staff, receptionists, parents, and curious bystanders. Did my job technically require me to hold the door open for a teacher, or to thank a security guard, or to take interest in the lives of the parents? No. But I could never know what kind of a day someone was having, and little gestures of kindness could go a long way in making a positive impact. 

    We’re all taught from a young age to be respectful and polite. But it was empowering to learn that in engaging with the person in front of me, offering kindness, or showing interest in their life – I could potentially be playing a more meaningful role in their day than I would ever come to know. It’s a lesson that’s made my life more exciting, driven me to be more present, and is why you can almost always catch me striking up a conversation with the barista at Starbucks or with the check-out clerk at Trader Joe’s.